SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- In a year of being hot and cold, the Memphis Grizzlies are particularly chilly lately.
Next comes a test against a team that just enjoyed one of its hottest spurts in memory, one Memphis wouldn't mind finding in a dream.
The Grizzlies (40-33) lug a three-game losing streak with them to Sacramento for a Monday night game against the Kings (28-45). The skid comes after a four-game winning streak that had Memphis players thinking they rediscovered the right formula after a five-game losing streak that preceded it.
The ups and downs -- the Grizzlies also have had two six-game winning streaks and an earlier three-game losing streak -- have left Memphis in seventh place in the Western Conference, five games ahead of both the Denver Nuggets (35-38) and the Portland Trail Blazers (35-38) in the race for the final two playoff spots.